Some Pictures of Growing Baby! What a Fledgling!

Parents Love Their Growing Baby Bird

Sutcliffe and Mary ann remain attentive, loving parents. While its hard to see everything in focus on this video, clearly, the baby has grown a lot. Earlier, I thought his eyes are opened, but now I am not so sure. Its not clear what color he is going to be yet, but I am glad he looks less like a tiny frozen Thanksgiving turkey. Even if, now, he looks a bit like a cross between a hedgehog, and of course, Mr. Magoo.

Boos-day, December 18th, 2007

Happy Boos-day, all! Boo is doing great. He's still adorable and playful, and tame. He seems to particularly enjoy when we get home and give him greens. Mia is also fine. She/he remains neurotic, and often runs back on forth on the perch closest to Boo's cage, quite nervously. She also squawks loudly whenever a hand goes into her cage to deposit food. She actually falls off the perch in her terror. There are tame budgies; and then, there's Mia. Boo and Mia are polar opposites in terms of tameness.
In the summer Boo, and the other budgies gets fresh grasses and dandelion greens. However, in the winter, he (and the other flock members) typically get dill weed, almost daily. They rejected parsley. They love cilantro, but it is a bit pricey and so it is reserved as an occasional treat. I did freeze several stalks of wild grass with seeds, recently thawed. The result of this experiment was budgie elation all around.

Baby Budgie Spreads Her Wings

I hope you can see this video: it was taken before we removed the three unhatched eggs. The large bumps under the baby's neck are her crop: very full! I hope you can also appreciate the buddha stomach she has. She is trying to spread her wings, although her eyes are not yet open!

The Eggs Have been Removed

Yesterday we removed three eggs, cleaned the box, and held the baby (pics to follow). She's a giant baby! (note: will use he/she interchangeably). Her eyes remain closed. She has quite a few feathers and a large, full, buddha tummy. She flapped her wings. Mary ann and Sutcliffe were understandably concerned, but after replacing the box, they both went in and fed the baby, and today, all is well. The three eggs were as follows: two empty (unfertilized?). one: fertilized, but no viable offspring. However, this giant baby is going to take all of her parents attention, I am sure! Here you can see Mary ann is getting suspicious. She's a smart bird.

More Footage, Baby and Parents

The baby is growing in leaps and bounds. He still looks like a tiny thankgiving turkey. He is also STUFFED! Sometimes you can see yellow balls in his neck area: this is his crop, and it is very full.

Baby Spins!

Happy Boos-day, Dec 11th

Well, another week has rolled by, and once again, its BOOS-DAY! In order to celebrate, I thought we all might like to look at some pictures of Boo from his childhood (March 2007, when he was one month old). I believe the more mature (in box) picture is about age 3-4 weeks, and the younger one, about 2-3 weeks. However, the new baby(s) will help us better gauge that as we have a much better idea of the actual incubation period on this brood. Budgies grow fast (thank goodness, since the current baby doesn't look too strong yet). We thought Boo was just adorable, of course. But, when I proudly showed his picture to someone at work, she replied "he's got looks that only a mother could love". And let me tell you, SHE was no bargain herself. How dare she make any negative remarks about the brilliant Boo? And aren't these pictures CUTE? One, two, three---Awwwwwwww.
General Blogging Reminder: Please post comments, one and all, stranger, family, and Friends! We really enjoy them. We'll even read them outloud to the budgies. (well, maybe).

Baby Urges Siblings to Hatch!

PS: The bright spot slightly marring the view might be light coming in via the hole into the nest box.

All is Well, Still one Hatchling

There remains only one hatchling: he is growing in leaps and bounds! The hatchling has grown about 20% since his hatching Dec 6th. The other three eggs remain intact. Could it be that K saw one of the eggs rocking? Certainly, one of the eggs is more oblong than before. One question has been answered: Does Sutcliffe feed the baby, or, does he feed the mother, who then feeds the baby? At least at this stage, it is clearly the latter.

All well in Baby Budgie Land

We finally saw the third egg (fourth, really since one has hatched), which is reassuring. No more seem to have hatched. Sutcliffe is going full force now on feeding: he goes through about one to two teaspoons of cooked oatmeal a day, and about as much seed. He's an eating and feeding machine! Sutcliffe's beak is now a brilliant blue, both cere and lower beak. I wish I could post video for you all to see, but, I am glad to report, the baby is moving well. His rump seems to have a few pin feathers on it, or, that may simply be shadow. Its hard to get good focus. Most of the time, the baby and eggs are being sat upon by MA. However, from time to time he seems to squirm out and CHIRP! How could something or someone so tiny be so loud? He is no bigger than the tip of my thumb, probably more like the size of the tip of my pinkie.

Births and Hatchings

This morning, we heard a LOUD chirping, and we suspected that something had changed. We looked in the cage, and a broken egg shell had been discarded out of the nest box and onto the floor of the cage. On turning on the webcam, we could, at first, see only both parents. However, one, and then the other, left the nest box to investigate our activities, and we saw: the first hatchling! Magically, today is also J.s birthday. So, J and the first budgie have the same Birthday.
Sutcliffe seemed to be more annoying than helpful. He was feeding, but, not filling his crop, it seemed. We placed cooked oatmeal into the cage, which was very much eaten by Sutcliffe when he was feeding Boo and Mary ann.
The only minor concern is that we see only two remaining eggs. We don't, however, see any additional eggshells. Has the fourth egg been a casualty of nature? Time will tell.
Meanwhile: it is amazing that this embryonic, almost microscopic creature can make any noise at all, much less, loud cheeping noises. Also, it is quite amazing that this tiny creature could survive. It is not surprising that there is more than a 50% mortality rate for budgie hatchlings. I don't think I have ever seem a more vulnerable appearing creature.

Test Question: Do You Know What Day it Is?

Yes folks, another week has passed and the very special, not to be missed, BOOS-day is upon us!
Boo has had an excellent week. His feathers are shiny again, and he has stopped molting. I am not sure if he has re-gained the 2 ounces lost due to the stress of Mia moving in, but, he certainly is eating with regular gusto. He is playful and happy. Mia seems to be settling into her cage nicely too. We let them out for "playtime" a couple of times a week, and mostly, they just sit happily together on the houseplants (as shown, with Mia in the foreground).
The really big news on Boo this week is: his nose doesn't look too blue-ish anymore. In fact, it has a downright brownish tint. This suggests that HE might be a SHE. Budgies are notoriously hard to sex, especially, prior to puberty. And puberty often occurs right after the first molt. Boo was born last FEbruary, so it is possible he has just entered puberty. We will keep yo posted on the color of his cere (cere=the top of the beak which is brownish pink in female budgies, and blue in male budgies). The nose knows! Happy Boos-day!

Ten Days to Two Weeks

Based on internet sources and experience last winter with Boo, it seems that the incubation period for eggs is about a month or so. Since we know that the eggs were laid in the second week of November (around the 12-15th), we should be able to egg-spect (hahahaha) hatching in the next couple of weeks. Whether or not we will see this and document it, remains to be seen however. I wish we could get the video posting to work, and even more, I wish we could get live feed! Alas, we are stuck with still pictures for now. I suppose that I should not complain, since "Blogger" is free.

When You're an Egg, The View is Always the Same

Yesterday, Mary Ann looked a bit "peak-ed" to me. Sutcliffe stood next to the entrance hole of the nest box most of the day, and she was quite near the front. Notably, it was a bit colder. Today, however, the furnace has really kicked up, and when I put greens out (watercress and dill weed) both parents were very pleased! Mary ann otherwise has been sitting on the eggs constantly. The world, if you are one of her eggs, is largely yellow, warm, and soft. Doesn't sound too bad!

Tuesday is Boo's Day

I have decided that it would be fun to make every (or at least Most) Tuesday's a "Boo's Day". The reasons are several:
1. Most of the blog focuses on eggs, but, Boo is also very interesting.
2. Boo is my adored favorite. (is that wrong?)
3. You gotta love him, he's the baby! (We'll see what happens when the next brood comes along though, lol!)
He is now in his own cage, and happy again, with Mia in a new cage by herself. She caused him to lose weight (a whole 2 grams, and he only weighs 32 grams!). She also stressed him out so badly that he went into a massive molt. But this morning, one week or so after Mia's removal, he was singing to his hearts content. She was eating some dill weed that I put in her cage, contentedly it seemed, though did I imagine it, or was she also doing it a bit grumpily?

Stopping at Four in a Feathered Nest

It appears that Mary ann and Sutcliffe are stopping at four: we see no additional egg since our absence over the Thanksgiving holiday. The fourth egg seems to be a bit neglected. The first three have been "herded" into a central spot, and Mary ann sits on them almost the entire day. The fourth remains on the periphery, which is concerning. Yesterday I HAD to clean the cage (there have been two requests for poop pictures, but that was vetoed by J for this blog). In any case, during cleaning, Mary ann was very agitated and came out of the box. She has already lost weight. I hope Sutcliffe can keep up with feeding her and when they hatch, the young! It is likely only one, or even one, will surivive. But we will see!

Another Egg Laid: Four Eggs!

I hope this stops at some point! However, we know that Mary ann laid four eggs last brood, so it is not surprising that she laid four again. the survival rate for budgies hatched in aviaries is 50%: our first attempt, boo's clutch, had a lower success rate, with only one of four surviving. That could be the same with this group, or even worse, so we must prepare our gentle readers of the blog for the likelihood of at least some bad news at some point in this process. Biology is not a gentle field. That said, this is still very great news.

Three Eggs!

Very exciting! We can count three eggs as of yesterday. The parents are very much covering the view most of the time, with Mary Ann into close to full time brooding behavior, so we can't tell if another one has been laid or not today: so three for sure, so far. Sutcliffe continues to scuttle about, but today, for the first time, Mary ann booted him out of the box. Perhaps this signals the end of egg laying, perhaps not. Of course we will keep you posted! As R noted earlier, a lovely flourish of trumpets is warranted!

Ta dada DAAA (trumpet flourish!)!!!!

Budgie Breeding-A Euphemistic Yet Biological Update

I have received a few requests to not be vulgar on this blog, so, I am using Euphemisms from this point forward as much as possible. However, if anyone wants a euphemism to biology translational post, I'd be pleased to oblige upon request.

This morning, both parents were out of the nest box. Mary ann did her "toiletting" Her "butt" was triangulated in appearance. The tail region was large. Sutcliffe was feeling "romantic" and attempted/succeeded in mating activity.

This is of interest, because there are already two eggs. Therefore, not all eggs are fertilized, one would surmise from this, at the same time. Only two eggs were seen so far. Last time, she laid 4 eggs, three hatched, only one survived. I don't know if there are unfertilized eggs laid when there is a cock around, or if the other simply didn't make it at an earlier point in the brooding.

Mary ann and Sutcliffe have also begun rigorous housecleaning. Mary ann "toilets" once a day (always in the same spot: to me, that is interesting). However, Sutcliffe occasionally "goes" in the nest box. This is removed promptly, as are some feathers (others remain, not clear how these are chosen-perhaps soiled featehrs are removed?).

More Big News!

A second egg has been laid! We are quite sure that it was not present yesterday. While we are not quite sure of when the first was laid (though within the last week), we are quite sure of the date of this one: today. Therefore, we will be able to fairly accurately time how long it takes to hatch (assuming they will hatch in order...which may not be a fair assumption). Mary Ann continues to roll both of them (could not get video of that) and also, sits on both of them. This may be anthropomorphising, but it seems that Sutcliffe, who is spending a lot of time in the nest box, is getting on her nerves. He needs to let her brood on the eggs. Instead, he "scuttles about" and disturbs her. Surely he is trying to protect his little family in his own way.

BIG news!

An EGG!

We got the webcam hooked up today, and lo and behold, AN EGG. Naturally, we were very excited. I hope we did not disturb the parents too much in webcam set up. They seemed a bit agitated during the set up. Mary ann came out and I witnessed the GIANT budgie crap as well. So far, one egg. It seems to be nestled in a tiny collection of feathers (very cute). At one point, Mary Ann was rolling it about, and at others, both she and Sutcliffe covered it with their bodies. They spent a bit of time outside of the box after the "webcam set up disturbance". We will keep you posted. Of course. Keep your fingers crossed for 1. a healthy brooding and hatching of this egg and 2. laying, and health, of more eggs. And of course, 3. Health of the parents. and Finally 4. Successful blogging.

Increase in Nest Box Time!

Both Sutcliffe and Mary ann are spending much more time in the nest box: Mary ann certainly is "in" more than she is "out". Additionally, the "giant budgie poop" as mentioned in earlier posts is still occurring, daily. Our webcam is not functional (it figures) but, I did peer into the nest box. I saw no eggs, but I did see Stucliffe grooming Mary ann on the top of her head with what I believe to be great affection. He also fed her cilantro last night which I provided. She basically doesn't eat at all now, and he does all her feeding, even if she is out of the box.For interest sake, pictured here is an earlier shot of the M and S in teh nest box, looking out.

Helping our Feathered Friends!

Some poor feathered friends were injured in an oil spill. Thank goodness some humans are helping out! Check it out, http://intbirdrescue.blogspot.com/.

A Change in Routine

Warning: some content of this post may be embarrassing to some people (but not birds).
Over the last week, Sutcliffe and Mary Ann have been spending even more time in the nest box. It is not possible to estimate the total time spent in the nest box, because we are not monitoring them constantly. However, more often than not, when we go to visit them in their love hideaway (Ie the basement), they are both in the nest box.
The "BIG" news: this morning, I spied a very large stool. It is the type that Mary Ann had when she last laid eggs: some may recall, that unlike most budgies, who poop pretty much throughout the day delivering tiny pellets of waste, the nesting budgie goes once a day, and delivers a large dollop.
The unfortunate matter of this is its right next to the food bowl. That could prove to be a bit of a messy issue. Otherwise though, an excellent, and yes, very exciting sign.
Yes, its a giant bird poop, and its VERY exciting!
For those of you who are really fans of biology, I will try to get a photo. I'll watch comments to see if the fans of the blog wish me to post a giant poop picture.

Introducing: MIA

In order to discourage Boo's constant chirping to his mother (who is on another floor, but still, seems distracted), we have gotten him a new companion. Her name is Mia. She is lovely, white with a yellowish face, and a bit of other delicate coloring.
We were going to adopt, but, the hassle factor was SO high: we had to first drive to fill out an application. Then, when our application is approved, meet the bird. Then, get a home visit from some Takoma Park Hippie. Then, drive out and get the bird. All this for a budgie? I mean, yes, adoption is the right thing to do. But they need to lower the bar a bit, at least, on this. I mean, its a BUDGIE. And budgies are $25 at Petsmart. Which is where we got Mia. Walk in, get a budgie, walk out. I feel a bit guilty, but, hey, mission accomplished.
So far, Boo seems to hate her. At least, they spend a fair amount of their time pushing each other off of perches. He also pecks at her. But, he seems a bit deferential, as well. She comes in from the Budgie Bin, where it was a "Bird eat Bird" world, and he has known nothing but pampering and adoration. We will see where this goes, and, if it helps Mary ann and Sutcliffe FINALLY get the lovin' they need from each other.
On a general blogging note: I wonder if I should get myself one of these t-shirts for myself? http://www.onehorseshy.com/highbrow/no_one_cares_about_your_blog/.

A Move in the Right Direction

Today when I went to feed Sutcliffe and Mary ann, both scuttled hastily into the nest box. A very good sign! This is the first time I have seen them in the nest box since Boo came home (about a month ago). I had quite a few thing to do in the vicinity of the couples cage (it being Saturday: they are near the laundry; also, I had to tidy the cage and the surrounding area). From time to time, they headed into the nest box either singly, or together. Sutcliffe was looking at it yesterday: today he is the one who was in it more. Boo continues to make loud "tweeEEEP tweeEEP" noises, and his mother seems to hear them, but, hopefully, this nesting behavior will continue and flourish.

From You Tube: this Bird has Rhythm!

Couldn't help sharing this with you: Budgies seem to love music, but never have I seen them dance like this! Check out his little bow (with the head) at the end!

The Birdman of Alcatraz-No Gilded Cage

Robert Stroud was the so-called “Birdman of Alctraz”. Although he was portrayed by Burt Lancaster in the Hollywood version of his story as a humane and sensitive individual, he clearly had a violent side, having murdered people both outside and inside prison during his life sentence, and was further the source of continuous threats to other inmates and guards. His original imprisonment was for killing a bartender who refused to pay (and allegedly beat) Kitty O’Brien, the Birdman’s romantic partner who was also a dance hall entertainer and prostitute. They lived together in Juneau, Alaska. He was named the “Birdman” because over the course of his 42 years of incarceration, he developed an interest in canaries. His interest sprang from his adoption of an injured sparrow he found in the prison yard one day. He was allowed to study and raise about 300 birds in his cell (not all at the same time) while imprisoned at Leavenworth. Reportedly, he let them fly free in his cell, which was disgustingly filthy. He studied canary habits, physiology, and developed medications for their ailments. He authored two published books on the subject and his observations were considered important to the scientific field of canary research. His books were profitable, but not to him; he never received any royalties, and when he complained, he was transferred to Alcatraz where he could not keep his birds. At Alcatraz, he had virtually no social human contact, and was in “solitary” for most of his imprisonment. He wrote two more books, these on the prison system, but he was no longer allowed to publish. He died at Alcatraz of unknown causes. The cell where he lived is in a part of the prison not open to the public.

Shoes for Boos

Until you have some shoes like this (from a German artistic website, what else?) you haven't really walked the bird walk! I think that my photographer and other artist human flock co-members (you know who you are!) should submit some of their brilliant to the Designklicks (http://designklicks.spiegel.de) website too!

Showers

Budgies love bathing. Our budgies are particularly fond of being sprayed with the spray bottle: I spray through the wire of the cage, and Boo in particular, will press his body up against the cage to get as wet as possible, at times. Sutcliffe seems to prefer to drink water droplets off of the cage or eucalyptus leaves (thanks C and B!). I will try to get a photo of this. the "snap" of the camera seems to be off putting, and the webcam is on the interior of the nest box, hence the lack of recent pics. However, here is a cute video of a budgie walking under the tap to get some water. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SXxDWiPFmA&mode=related&search=Rudi%20Paula%20budgies%20budgie%20shower. From a gene/environment standpoint, it is also very interesting, as Sutcliffe and Mary ann didn't like this at first, but once they got used to it, actually expect it and seem to make "requesting" noises. Boo has always, always liked it. Like greens, it seems, regular offering over months seems to be what it takes for a budgie to decide if they want to "like" something, or not, but once they do, they really relish it, whether its greens, showers (or hopefully NEST BOXES!).

Mary ann remains cool...

Mary ann and Sutcliffe are now moved to the basement as noted in prior posts...but she remains cool to Sutcliffe, although he remains ardent. Her mornings remain punctuated by the loud CHEEP that I have come to realize is a signal for budgies to other budgies, a "searching for the flock" sound. I wonder if she still seeks Boo? And if she does, is it as offspring, or as potential mate (ie, another male)? I don't know if Budgies have a prohibition against mating with their offspring, but I doubt they do. At this point, its just more watch and wait.

Mary Ann and Sutcliffe in Solitary

We had the screens on the screened in porch replaced, mandating budgie moving. As a result, Mary ann and Sutcliffe have been moved for the duration (ie, till we change our minds about it) to the basement. The basement is not as grim as it sounds: because we live on a slope, there is a large, nice window that provides a great deal of light. Still, their cage is in a storage area. I doubt they mind, as budgies have a different feng shui than humans it seems. We have put the light on a timer to allow twelve hours, and basically, will provide a ton of food and leave them alone. The webcam is set up to monitor the nest box, but, not the rest of the activity. Its hard to gauge if this strategy is working incrementally, but, there is no significant improvement in nest box interest.

Boo continues to Distract

There has been no more nesting activity since Boo returned. The weather has been fantastic, and the budgies all eat the greens provided with great gusto. Mary ann has become thinner: although she seems well, she is much less interested in Sutcliffe. He occasionally looks into the nest box and feeds her, but not to the extent previously. Our little experiment will move indoors in a few weeks. At that point, we will put on a lamp for a 12 hour day, and put boo in a different room (and on a different floor). In the meantime, the budgies are a lot of fun to watch as they play with their food! Especially Boo, who seems to think that the purpose of eucalyptus is to provide something he can tear apart and throw on the ground.

Boo Distracts his Mother

Boo is back from holiday at J's mom's house: the main reason is simply, I missed him. Funny, how a silly little bird can become so beloved. He is really cute, though, sitting on my head, and on my glasses (which, when not reading, are typically pused up on my head). He has also become a "hair groomer" which is very sweet and seems akin to true affection. Of course, I am anthropomorhising again (is it so wrong?). Anyway, every morning, Boo lets out a series of very loud "CHEEP"s. I have heard this noise before, usually when a budgie is looking for the "flock". It is a loud "where are you" call. He has been calling from his cage, and his mother is busily answering. Since this began, his mother seems to have lost all interest in romance with Sutcliffe. Sutcliffe, meanwhile, is still poking his head in the nest box, feeding Mary ann, and even had his foot on her back last night (a prelude to romance, shall we say, in an effort to keep this a "G rated" blog). However, she has not returned to the nest box, been indifferent to the nesting behavior of tearing bark off the the cherry branches we have placed in the cage, and generally not interested in Sutcliffe. Boo, you little romance killer! I shouldn't be surprised. Boo is very spoiled and as far as he remembers, its always been "all about Boo".

Budgie-ness

I recently heard veterinarian Patricia McConnell on the Diane Rehm show. Patricia McConnell co-hosts a show “Calling all pets” (where mostly cats and dogs are discussed). I enjoy her show and something she said on the Diane Rehm show resonated with me in particular. To paraphrase, she said that she tries not to anthropomorphize her dog(s), but rather, enjoy their wonderful “dogness”. I think that one of the joys of observing animals, including pets, is to think about what it is like to be them. Sometimes people ask: are budgies smart? And I answer, “they may not be very good at being people, but they are expertly skilled and brilliant when it comes to being budgies.” As I have noted, budgies priorties seem to be: the highest perch, the flock, and millet seed (or other treats). These are NOT human priorities. When Sutcliffe feeds Mary ann, it is really “sweet”. However, we cannot assume he has affection for her as our monkey brains would understand it. Sutcliffe is a “good father” in that he sacrifices everything in order to feed Mary ann, and in the past, the young. Mary ann is a “good mother” in a similar way. However, when we project human motives and emotions onto budgies, we lose a chance to enjoy their true “budgieness” which is very fascinating. J. asked, “do you think Sutcliffe wishes he has arms”? That is a very interesting question. Sometimes I wish I had wings, but, I would not give up my hands for them. I really do wonder what Sutcliffe would say.
Conversely, sometimes we enjoy anthropomorphizing. “Cute overload” is one of the best, (and sometimes, worst), examples of that. It is interesting to see ourselves in our pets. Part of this is biological, perhaps, as transference of our desire to love and nurture our own young. Part of it helps us feel companionship from our pets. Some of it may be true: evolution has preserved a number of behaviors across species, especially, species that live in groups (be it flocks, tribes, or packs). It may be reverse anthroporhism to say that I feel that we (K, J) are human members of their flock. We probably wouldn't make very good budgies, though. I guess that means, the budgies would view us as flawed, limited flock members. Hopefully, they "like" us, in their own budgie way, nonetheless.

"Fat Bottomed Girl You Make the Rockin' World go Round!

Thanks to all for your fun comments and interest! It is a great joy to read them. Lets hope Sutlcliffe agrees that fat bottomed girls make the Rockin' world go round!!!

A Little Less Hot, a Lot More Action

The weather has markedly cooled over the last two days; from highs in the mid to high 80s (F) and lows in the high 70s, to highs in the mid seventies and lows down to 50F. It rained yesterday. I believe this has weather change induced a much more amorous feeling in the budgies, if nest box visiting is a measure of that. Both birds are spending a lot of time in the next box, including, together. Also, Mary ann will stick her head out of the box and Sutcliffe will feed her. Its pretty cute. There is still plenty of time being spent outside the box, as well, but, the trajectory is clearly in the right direction. We also "exercised" the budgies yesterday, by taking Mary ann and Sutcliffe out and letting them do some finger sitting. Perhaps the exercise was also good for them. We have put "fresh" (ie, additonal from C.s original batch) eucalytus in also.

Sutcliffe Is Doing What He Can (It Seems)

Sutcliffe seems very into the entire nest box and mating idea (although we haven't actually caught him um, er, in the act). However, he is in and out of the box, cozying up to Mary ann and feeding her continuously, and has a very blue beak in addition to a blue cere. Mary ann, however, seems less enthused. While she is in the nest box from time to time, its not particularly often. She lets Sutcliffe feed her, and she feeds herself. Pretty much, most of her day is spent eating. The weather has cooled slightly, and it is now raining. All I can do is hope that there is something romantic in the air. Mary ann has become almost twice as large as Sutcliffe. She seems happy enough, though. I suppose all we can do now is wait and see. We have moved the camera to a hole over the nest box.

Bird Adopts Monkey

Many people were suprised by this unusual story about a Pigeon nursing a monkey back to health. However, I was not surprised at all. I would expect no less of Sutcliffe or Boo if one of us human members of the flock were to take ill. Mary ann might even nurture us. Don't you just love the look in the monkey's eyes as he strokes his pigeon friend?

Some Sad News

There are always leaders in every field: in the field of parrots, a great talent has passed away. Alex, the Parrot, worked six to eight hours a day, every day, studying parrot speech: . As you can see from his picture, he is an African Grey, thought to be the most intelligent, or at least, the most easily taught to speak of all parrots. Lets all remember to tell our pets "I Love you" as Alex's owners/researchers told him the night they last saw him, to which he replied "You'll be in tomorrow". I'd suggest a moment of silence, but perhaps more fitting is for us to all say "seven", which he had only just learned, having long been able to count to six.

Snack Time

Mary ann is really working on getting as many calories into her self as possible; she is eating pretty much constantly. We put up a snack stick (peanut butter and seeds) and she devoured about one third of it in less than a day: this is a stick that would normally last a couple weeks. She has been in the nest box a lot more today and yesterday than before. Sutcliffe is still having a ball eating eucalyptus, feeding it to her, and hopping about, including in and out of the box. J modified the perch situation so she can more easily get in and out of the box because the one perch we had for the box was not really steady enough, and perhaps, was a disincentive. The biggest factor for breeding, though, I have concluded, is the temperature. As it cools, I think we will have success. I must assure that we put in a lamp on a timer as the days shorten (around sept 21) so they get a good 12 hours of light daily.

Sutcliffe and Mary Ann visit the Nest Box!

I don't know if it is the eucalyptus (in background of video), the weather (a perfect summer day, or just the right time, but both Sutcliffe and Mary ann have been in the nest box today: Sutcliffe, several times! We are about to go on a short trip, and have placed a lot of eucalyptus, and treats in the cage. Hopefully privacy, food, eucalyptus, and hormones will lead to nesting and egg laying.

Eucalyptus Arrived!

Today eucalyptus arrived from C and B: Three types! We put one branch of each into the cage. As you can see, Sutcliffe explored nervously--Mary ann, who is out of view of the webcam, seemed to simply want to avoid it. This is not unusual for budgies: they usually react to new things with caution, and these are larger then the usual greens they get by several orders of magnitude. We are about to go on a four day trip. Hopefully, that will give the budgies a chance to mate, since, last time, their mating occurred, I believe, while we were out of town. However, we won't be able to document more eucalyptus events to see the complete reaction. It will be interesting to see if they eat it also, while we are gone. I am going to leave these same leaves in the cage.

Lola

Some of you remember Lola, and wonder what happened to her. Others may have never known her. Lola was purchased from a budgie bin, along with Sutcliffe, about a year ago. She was very tiny, and her wings were severely clipped at the time of arrival. These factors may have made her very timid, or, it could have been her innate nature, or both. In any case, Lola was always at the bottom of the pecking order. Her own fear caused her to be at risk of self injury as she frantically tried to avoid "the hand" at feeding, cleaning, and all times. She was slightly finger trained, after extensive effort. Once Boo was born, we thought she would have a friend, and we put her and Boo in a cage together, and the other two in a separate cage. However, Boo was relentless in his harrassment of her, though he was smaller still, and a baby. Finally, she was in a cage alone. It didn't seem a very good existence. Therefore, with much heartache, we sold her to a nice family we found via Craigs list. They really liked her, and they loved the name! However, they were so excited, that they then got more budgies. Poor Lola is probably back at the bottom of the pecking order, again. At least, in her new house, there is an 8 or 9 year old girl who loves her which is worth a lot, I would think.

If this Cage's a'Rockin' Don't Bother Knockin'

As you can see (I hope), Sutcliffe and Mary ann are doing a lot of jumping around, causing the webcam to shake quite a bit. Shake it, budgies!

Video, Take Two

Boo on a Sleep-Over

Someone told me yesterday that teenagers of both genders are enjoying sleep overs at each others houses. This is something that was not popular a generation ago, at least, with boys. Boo seems to be in the same mode as his human peers, having gone to stay with one our our parents for an extended holiday (about the next two weeks or so). The goal is, to give his parents a bit of alone time with each other. Of course, we miss him very much, and all his cute hoping, chirping, and other funny behaviors. Naturally I worry that he will not get the greens and all the attention he craves. We humans are so silly about our pets (and almost as much, about our children, I am sure--when we can tell the difference between the two categories!)

Cooler Weather

The weather has gone from extremely hot, to autumnally cool. The budgies behavior does not seem to have changed, however. It is a gray, dreary day. People and buddgies all seem a bit cranky.

Mary Ann's Bum

Mary ann's bum is decidedly bigger. And, she is clearly clunkier: she clunked down on a perch so hard it shook, whereas sutcliffe simply hops gently onto the same perch. I suspect she is pregnant. However, she has not even set foot in the nest box. I certainly hope that all works out, and that she doesn't get any egg binding, which is a seriously dangerous situation.

An Experiment

As an experiment, I took grasses collected last weekend, got them damp, and put them in baggies in the freezer. Today, I took a baggie out, ran warm water through it and across the grasses, and then gave them to the budgies. If this works, I think, then I can use grasses collected this season all winter. The result? Well, at first, the budgies were not too interested. later, they sampled the grass seeds, but not with the usual enthusiasm. I would say, this was moderately successful at best.

Mary Ann and Sutcliffe Get Nippy

Mary ann and Sutcliffe seem to be getting along fine, and he continues to feed her, all the time, but more nipping back and forth seems to be going on. However, his cere (nasal bridge) is a lovely testosterone blue, and her cere, a nice feminine estrogenic brownish, scaly pink. Maybe everyone is just feeling the heat.

Does This Nest Box Make me look Fat?

Is it my imagination, or is Mary Ann getting a bigger bum? Maybe it is swollen with egg(s)? However, her only nest box encounters to date (other than the glorious days of Boo's birth) have been after being placed there. Sutcliffe often pokes his head in, though. And, his cere (nasal bridge) is very, very blue signifying, hormonal changes. At least we are having fun with the birds, and hopefully, they don't mind us too much!

Stucliffe Eats His Vegetables!

Finally, it rained over the weekend! I picked a lot of greens for all the budgies and they were joyous! Perhaps this rain, plus greens, will induce...breeding, what else! I plan to liberalize food supply and provide many different types of fresh and dried foods, even though Mary Ann is a bit plump, so that the plenty associated with good times to breed is simulated.

Mary Ann Reads the Blog

Other budgies may be quite skilled at speech, but, Mary Ann may be the first budgie to ever read about herself on her own blogsite!

Nest Box Travels

In order to try to let Mary Ann and Stucliffe become a bit more acquainted with the box, we decided to let them jump in and out by opening up the back trap door and letting Mary Ann sit on it. It took several hours, and then finally, Sutcliffe went out the other way and left the cage! Prior to doing that he was feeding her, through the hole. Hopefully this experiment will result in nest box familiarity and subsequent eggs. However, I have a bit of a concern that we are overly meddling.

Rain, Rain, come Today!

It has been extremely hot (around 100 F yesterday, and 90 well into the night, though cooler, of course, with windchill lol). I worried a bit about the budgies, as noted in earlier posts, but realize they come from Australia, and so should be able to handle, if not enjoy, these hotter temperatures. But what will this do to breeding? In my reading, I found that the drought conditions suppress hormones and breeding. Budgies apparently follow thunderstorms, and flock to places where it has just rained, in order to enjoy the benefits of seed grasses growing. They also really like river eucalyptus, whose trunks and branches are especially favored for nesting holes. (Of note, my brother, who lives in California, sent me some Eucalyptus branches last year, which the budgies devoured when fresh, but was they dried, lost all interest). I am hoping that providing regular showers, and greens daily, will help breeding to take place. But, as I think about Boo's successful hatching, I realize all I did was make sure there was light for 12 hours a day by putting the lamp in the living room on a timer and just leaving them alone.

Can Budgies Talk?

It is clear to me that the budgies have meaningful vocalizations. Once, when the budgies were singing, I told a friend over the phone that they were sounding so joyous. His reply was that a friend had told him, that budgies make noise when stressed or upset. I thought about it, and realized, both were true. The budgies have a specific noise when eating greens, mostly, Sutcliffe to Boo and vice versa, that I think means “here is food” or a specific type of food. They also have a certain squawking, that is associated with running rapidly back and forth on the perch, and sometimes, flapping the wings. I believe this is territorial. And they have several other vocalizations that they make regarding being picked up, fed, romantic.

Perhaps the most famous budgie, Sparkie Williams, could speak 550 words and also recite nursery rhymes-the BBC has archived some of his speech. Another Bird, Alex, was taught to name a number of objects and colors. He also was taught the word “no” which he used often, to try to avoid being picked up, and also, being asked to perform.

Trainer: Alex, what's this?

Parrot: No!

Trainer: Yes, what is this?

Parrot: Four-corner wood (indistinct).

Trainer: Four, say better .

Parrot: No.

Trainer: Yes!

Parrot: Three. ..paper.

Trainer: Alex, "four", say "four".

Parrot: No!

Trainer: Come on!

Parrot: No! Trainer: Alex!

Parrot: Paper .

Trainer: Alex, what's this? Come on.

Parrot: No.

Trainer: You can do it, come on!

Parrot: No!

Trainer: Yes!

Parrot: Paper.

Trainer:

What is this?

Parrot: Four-corner ...paper .

My budgies will probably never learn to talk for two (and maybe more) reasons. Firstly, they have each other to talk to, in their mother tongue, and have no need to learn mine. Secondly, I don't put the time into training them. Perhaps another reason is, that if they learned the word, no", it would become even more hopeless.

Although humans (and probably, Neanderthals) are the only known primates with spoken language, there is some genetic basic for language shared by birds and people. Researchers at Duke and Max Plank Institute including Sebastian Heaesler and Kazurhiro Wada discovered a gene, FaxP2, that when abnormal, causes language deficit in humans. This gene is not found in any other mammal, but is found to be important in the vocal learning of birds.
I think you might enjoy the youtube video of Einstein, the parrot. He is a brilliant speaker, in fact, a “superstar”!

Everything is Hot but Sutcliffe and Maryann

The weather has been downright miserable lately. Simply, too hot. The budgies are in a screened in porch, and in their cages, and while it is perfectly alright for them (they have shade, food, water, and get spray showers from a spray bottle daily) they still don't seem in the mood for love. Maryann has begun some gnawing on a cherry branch stick, a good sign, I think, as it seems to be related to nesting behavior, and also, pulling the occasional nesting material out of the purchased "nesting hair cylinder", but otherwise, no signs at all of breeding potential. This could be a bust!!! lets hope not!

The Nest Box is Up, but Unnoticed

The nest box is now completely attached to the cage and ready for business, but not yet noticed by either Sutcliffe or Maryann. I recall that last time, it took Maryann several weeks, I think, to notice it, at which point she hopped happily in and out, and no breeding occurred until we removed our then third budgie Lola (Lola has been given away to a good family--four budgies was just too much).
We put many wondeful fresh grass seed collected on a walk, in front of the nest box, and the couple ate them, but didn't notice the box. Sutcliffe did a lot of back and forth on the perch, and made loud calls to Boo, who did the same in his cage (he also got greens). I wonder if this loud calling is to send the message, "food is here"?

My Public...How They LOVE ME!

It appears that Sutcliffe and Maryann are completely comfortable to have a webcam watching them. We are ready to hang the nest box and let the action begin in earnest. It would be nice if I could figure out how to post video as well as still pictures. Help from any reader is greatly appreciated!

Webcam Functioning

Well, we are all one step closer to breeding and viewing. The webcam seems functional. The next two steps are 1) learning how to post video onto this site (blogger) and 2) hanging the nestbox (I need some brackets for hanging the nest box off of the cage, but have an idea: maybe just use bent nails, or as we called them in Tennessee, "hangnails").

Here is a nice picture of Sutcliffe feeding Maryann some greens (in this case, cilantro).

Fears of a Budgie Breeder

As I embark upon this budgie-breeding-and-blogging journey, I have many fears. Last time, I was rigorous regarding not disturbing the budgies. Also, I kept the nesting set up very simple. My approach last time, was simply this: put in simple nest box, leave plenty of different types of food, including soft oatmeal in the cage, and leave them alone. This worked quite well(as you can see from the adorable picture of Boo). I didn't vacuum the room (it got pretty gross) and only used a broom, and only when the cage was covered, for example. There was no music or talking. It was like budgie church. Now, I will likely be messing a bit with the webcam, and while I intend to keep it to a minimum, it is sure to be more bothersome than my simple cleaning, before. Additionally, the top of the nest box is plexiglass, rather than wood, to allow viewing and photography. That will be covered with a sheet, to prevent light, but, will that be perceived as concerning to the ever vigilant Maryann? Finally, Boo is in an adjacent cage. He is VERY social. Will his eagerness to be part of the scene inhibit, er, intimacy between his parents? He is the equivalent of a teenager now. Hopefully he will reject them to hang out with the "cool kids" (ie me and J) instead.